Postdoctoral AI Robotics for Radioisotope Purification

Brookhaven Science Associates, LLC; Upton (NY); On-site; USD 72,000 - 85,000; Full time

Job summary

Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Isotope Research & Production program invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher to develop an AI-driven robotic system for chemical purification steps in radioisotope production.

The project focuses on fast, reactive fine-motor manipulation of fluids, real-time correction for sloshing, and integration with a frontier vision-language model for planning and supervision of multi-step workflows.

Qualifications

• Ph.D. in a technical field related to robotics or ML.
• Backgrounds in robotics, controls, or machine learning.
• Strong programming in Python and ML frameworks (e.g. PyTorch).
• Hands-on problem-solving and clear communication.

Responsibilities

• Design and build a dual-system robotic architecture integrating vision-language planning with a fast controller.
• Develop a reactive control layer using suitable methods (e.g. MPC, latent world models).
• Create 3D perception for fluid-state estimation through glassware.
• Validate on a cold bench before use with active materials.
• Publish results in peer-reviewed venues and present at conferences.

Skills

Python

PyTorch

Independent research

Written and verbal communication

Education

Ph.D. in mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, computer science, physics, mathematics, statistics/data science, or related field

Tools

Robotics hardware experience

Job description

Brookhaven National Laboratory’s Isotope Research & Production program invites applications for a postdoctoral researcher to develop an AI-driven robotic system for chemical purification steps in radioisotope production.

The project focuses on fast, reactive fine-motor manipulation of fluids, real-time correction for sloshing, and integration with a frontier vision-language model for planning and supervision of multi-step workflows.